MARS ROVER EXPLORES ANCIENT MARTIAN RIVER DELTA

NASA's Perseverance rover is a car-sized, six-wheeled rover designed to explore the Jezero Crater in Mars's Syrtis Major quadrangle. The crater measures approximately 28-miles in diameter and is thought to have once been flooded with liquid water in which life may have existed. In some Slavic languages, the term 'Jezero' man's lake.

Since arriving on Mars in February 2020, Perseverance has been about the business of investigating Martian astrobiology by caching rock and soil samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. Since 7 July 2022, the vehicle has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater, thereby bringing the total number of scientifically compelling rock specimens to twelve. NASA associate administrator for science Thomas Zurbuchen states: "We picked the Jezero Crater for Perseverance to explore because we thought it had the best chance of providing scientifically excellent samples and now, we know we sent the rover to the right location." Geologists posit the delta Perseverance is investigating formed approximately 3.5-billion years ago at the convergence of a Martian river and a lake.

Perseverance project scientist Dr Ken Farley of Caltech remarked: The delta, with its diverse sedimentary rocks, contrasts beautifully with the igneous rocks, formed from crystallisation of magma discovered on the crater floor. This juxtaposition provides us with a rich understanding of the geologic history after the crater formed and a diverse sample suite. For example, we found a sandstone that carries grains and rock fragments created far from Jezero Crater and a mudstone that includes intriguing organic compounds.”